


Running Up That Hill

by wifeofstark



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: IronStrange, M/M, school au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:33:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23445544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wifeofstark/pseuds/wifeofstark
Summary: He has to pass the bike to get to his car and the louder it gets the more he wants to toss a spanner at the obnoxious leather wearing assholes helmet."Wow, you must have a big dick, huh?"The bike stops revving and the guy pulls off his helmet to turn and look at him.Tony swallows. He had not anticipated the guy to be that hot.He smirks. "Maybe. You jealous?"
Relationships: Christine Palmer/Stephen Strange, Clea Strange/Stephen Strange, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Comments: 29
Kudos: 152





	1. High School Sweethearts

**Author's Note:**

> A year later she returns. Hello survivors! I hope you can enjoy this story in these hard times.

The bell rings to end the first day of Senior year and Tony's already over it. It's not learning that's the problem, he loves learning, if anyone told him they liked it more he would laugh in their face. The pursuit of knowledge is what's always driven him and that's why he knows everything. That's why he's over school, sitting and listening to a boring teacher drone on about things he's already studied and surrounded by idiots everywhere he goes. He keeps to himself mostly, or doesn't go to lessons at all. 

He needs to stop by the library though, to return the chemistry books he borrowed, and by then the car park is clear of people, only teachers cars remain. And a motorbike. It's black body doesn't so much stand out but the guy on it is revving it so loud you'd hear it from space. 

He has to pass the bike to get to his car and the louder it gets the more he wants to toss a spanner at the obnoxious leather wearing assholes helmet. 

Said asshole has a stereo mounted on the back of his ride and when Guns N' Roses starts blaring out of it he has to laugh.

"Wow, you must have a big dick, huh?" He yells when he's done cracking up. 

The bike stops revving and the guy pulls off his helmet to turn and look at him. 

Tony swallows. He had not anticipated the guy to be that hot. 

He smirks. "Maybe. You jealous?" 

The guy's jaw looks like it could kill a man, so could his cheekbones. His eyes are clear seawater and his brown hair flops charmingly over his forehead, with indication of being parted in the middle. 

Tony stops gaping and focuses on saving face, "Nah I'm alright" he points his keys at his car and when the custom Ford Mustang lights up the guy rightfully eats foot. 

"See ya!" He waves and gets in his car, starting the engine and turning the radio to max volume so Burn This Disco Out completely drowns out the assholes music. 

He backs out of his space and winds down the window so he can wink at the guy before turning out of the car park feeling pretty good about himself. When it really comes down to it, Tony always has the biggest dick. 

-

He sees the guy again two days later, in the library after school. He's sat at a table tucked in a corner so he doesn't see him when he walks in and heads for the physics section.

Tony stays put for a minute, reading the next line of 'The Myth of Sorcery'. It recounts unexplained supernatural events such as a person being spotted on one side of the globe and then another only minutes later. It's probably all horseshit but it's fascinating to think about regardless. 

He's distracted from the printed words though, he can see the guy between shelves, just the shoulder of his jacket and his long fingers tipping out books.

He's always been too spontaneous and that's what has him swinging his feet off the table and strolling over. "Hey" he leans on the shelf, catching the guy off guard. It's satisfying.

"Oh, it's Mustang" he continues shopping through the books, his blue green eyes darting across titles. He has a rich voice, it slips under his skin, in a good way. 

"And you're Jumbo Jim"

He snorts. "I think I prefer Stephen" 

"And I Tony" he extends his hand and Stephen shakes it firmly. 

"I thought you looked familiar, Tony Stark right?" 

He's popular for a lot of things; being in magazines, winning prizes for inventions, being Howard's son, getting a hand job from Becky in the changing rooms, he’d be surprised if Stephen didn’t know of him. 

"The one and only. You looking for anything specific?"

"I need to know Parallax for the new assignment"

"I can teach you it if you like"

He blinks, clearly conflicted between subordination and holding the obnoxious character. "Alright"

They run through the theory, Tony even draws him some diagrams to take home. He's surprised really by how receptive Stephen is to information. From the bad boy look he'd imagined he would sit back with crossed arms and try his best to look uningadged. Instead he's leaning forward, nodding along, asking questions and watching Tony as he speaks.

Admittedly it's exciting to have his attention.

"So I haven't seen you around before" he says when they're done talking physics.

"Yea I'm new"

"How are you liking this place?"

He shrugs. "I just come in and go home, it's boring but it's routine I guess"

"Same. Except I don't come in"

Stephen puts his chin in his hand. Tony can't not look at his lips. "Don't your parents tell you off for it?"

"They don't care. As long as I get to MIT I could be doing cocaine" 

He leans back slowly, expression betraying nothing. "Well you're going to be fine then" he piles up the papers and a book Tony recommended. "I gotta go, my sister is probably wondering where I am"

"Yea go ahead, if you don't need anything else"

Stephen stands. "Yea thanks for this. What else would I need?"

Tony looks at him, his tall and slim body dressed in black and grey, his artfully placed hair, and that face. "My number maybe?" 

He frowns. "Why would I need that?" Something tells him he hasn't picked up the flirting and it's adorable. 

"In case of a fire" he plucks a loose paper from Stephens bundle and jots his cell number under a triangle he drew earlier, then winks when he hands it back to him. 

Stephen doesn't say anything, just walks away. He'd like to hope it's because he's too flustered to.

-

It's the next morning, when he's got one foot in his car, that his pocket starts buzzing. He expected it to be his mum making sure he's going to school but the voice on the other end is not a woman's.

"My bike won't start" 

"Is this Stephen?"

"Yea. Sorry to bother but you're the only person I know from school, is it possible you could give me a ride?"

"Course, where do you live?" 

Stephens house is quaint, a two story with a picket fence and a garage. It's all light colours so Stephen sitting on the porch in the same black jacket and black jeans stands out like a beacon. 

He gets up and starts walking toward the car but Tony has other plans, so he cuts the engine and pulls the keys out.

"Thanks man"

"Not an issue. I want to see your bike before we go"

"We'll be late"

Tony meets Stephens absent yet intense gaze. "You don't seem like the type who cares"

Stephen concedes and leads them into the house, through the living room and kitchen and into the garage. He keeps a neat space, every room is orderly. 

"Parents at work?" 

"They don't live here." He signals at his bike, a black Suzuki.

He sits cross legged on the floor to familiarise himself with the specs. "Can I ask why?" 

"They found out I was messing around with a guy and didn't want to have spawn of Satan homosexual under their roof so my sister moved me in with her" 

"Yea I know how that is. Do you have tools?" 

He was only supposed to have a once over, out of curiosity, but half an hour later he's figured out the problem and he's right in the gut of the bike fixing it. It's clear they aren't going to school.

Stephen is quiet mostly, asking the odd question or offering help. When he looks over he's sitting on a step eating an apple and reading out of a notebook. He doesn't know whether to think he looks like an asshole or a painting. 

"Do you want a drink?" 

"What do you have?" He wipes his forehead and unhappily realises he had grime on his hand. 

"Water or… corona I think" 

Tony smirks. "Look at this bad boy, he drinks beer"

"Don't act like you don't" he retorts, dropping the notebook and lodging the apple in his mouth.

"You got me" Tony watches him step into the kitchen with a smile. Stephen looks like the type of guy a mother would never want her daughter to date but he's not quite like that on the inside and it's perfect.

He’s handed a glass bottle of Corona and it's cold to his lips, refreshing in the face of how dry Stephen makes his mouth feel. 

"I'm done, just gonna make sure everything is tight and test it" he says, putting the bottle on the floor.

Stephen nods as he drinks his own beer and watches him. He doesn't stop watching even when he's focused on the bike again. Those eyes are an itch on his neck, a tingle down his spine. He knows Stephen’s gay now, and he wonders if he would go for him, if smart broken rich boys are his type. 

Once he's patched everything he stands and looks at Stephen, who's followed him up with those eyes. Hoping he isn't blushing he throws a leg over the bike and starts it, successfully. 

"Gimme your jacket"

He doesn't argue, slips it off and tosses it at him, maybe because he can't stop staring. Stephens so assured he isn't even trying to hide it. He likes that. 

He puts on the coat, it's warm and smells good, like Stephen. Then he revs the bike to hell and tries his best asshole face.

"Hi I'm Stephen" he says in a deep voice, trying not to giggle.

The smirk from the first time comes back on Stephen's face. Tony doesn't really know what to do with it so he busies himself stopping the bike and leaning it how it was before. 

"Hey" 

"Yea?"

Stephen's throat bobs when he drinks down more Corona. So does Tony’s when he sees how Stephen’s looking at him, it’s a steady want, he feels like he’s being undressed by those eyes, slowly. "You wanna know how big my dick really is?" 

Tony's always the leader in conversations, in charge and calculated. All off that bursts through a window and dies on the sidewalk. He knows one thing though, Stephen wants to fuck him and he's all for it, no second thoughts, just one choked out word, "Okay"

Stephen outstretches his hand and when Tony dismounts the bike and walks toward him it all feels like it's happening so slow, like Stephen's long fingers are curling around his hand slowly, like the smirk stretches his lips slowly. The walk up the stairs is slow too, neither of them speak so all he can hear is creaking until they reach his bedroom door. 

It's somewhat expected, the dark clothes thrown around, vinyls on the wall, a big stereo next to the bed. 

"Now," Stephen waltzes to the bed and sits on the edge, scrutinizing him with dangerous eyes, "I've heard things, we both know you're the real bad boy here. Show me" 

The way he says it almost commands Tony to take his clothes off right there and then. Instead he takes a deep breath and enters the wild side. 

"I don't know if I can," he drapes his arms around Stephens neck and cages him in with his knees on the bed, "I’m just so innocent"

It seems to have been the right choice, Stephens eyes almost spark and his warm fingers slide under his ACDC t-shirt. "I can see that" 

"Can I kiss you?" He asks just as Tony was going to. He's surprised, thought that Stephen looked the type to fuck someone like they're an item. 

Tony dips down for a kiss in reply and Stephen's lips feel as good, better than he pictured. They kiss and it gets deeper, hotter, Stephen slips his leather jacket off Tony's shoulders and eases him around and onto the bed. Everything smells like Stephen, he's kissing his neck, he's already whimpering. 

Piece by piece clothes come off, cloth floats, belts clang and shoes thump. Stephen doesn't stop looking at him as he fingers him open, like he's drinking everything about his desperate withering, the love of the moment and the craving for more and more.

After an age a condom goes on and he's in. He doesn't fuck fast or make slow love, he's all dedicated thrusts, one after the next. He finds the spot soon after and Tony stops caring about the sounds he's making and feels, curling his spine and toes at the intensity. He can feel Stephens hands grabbing him, grounding him, but he can’t see with his head thrown back. 

Then he stops abruptly. Tony lets out a surprised breath but hears the car engine Stephen seems to be listening to. "That's my sister"

"Shit. Do we stop?"

"No I got this" he stretches over and pushes the cassette resting out of the stereo until it clicks and music teases the room. He turns it up until Running Up That Hill is almost shaking the room. 

Stephen's hand gently covers his mouth and he winks before continuing, faster this time. 

His perfect skin is glistening, it's gone from pale to pink from each decisive thrust, Tony thinks he can hear his blood rushing around his body, or maybe that’s his own. It doesn't matter, soon enough Tony cums, brought over the edge by Stephens long fingers. Then he follows. 

They heave breaths, Stephen slips his hand down to his shoulder, and for the first time he sees a real smile from him. "Did you like that?".

That smile makes him realise he might almost have feelings for Stephen, already. But it was just fucking, and he was okay with that, it's what he expected. 

Except Stephen hardly follows the path of predictability and starts hanging out with Tony all the time. They do everything together at school, talk on the phone, hang out at each other's houses. They're known now, Tony and Stephen, two in one. He likes that. 

A month into friendship and long drives and fucking and loud music Stephen asks him to be his boyfriend. It was never a question that he would say yes. A month into dating and Tony's positive he's in love. Stephen smiles a lot now, and laughs, and they don't ever run out of things to talk about, laying on Stephen's bed listening to Love's Theme. 

They like walking too, but only after Tony drives them to a spot or he's clinging onto Stephen when he smokes the roads on his bike. They always play Running Up That Hill, because it's their song, it's the soundtrack to all their memories. 

He tells Stephen he loves him on new years day, when they're sitting in their usual spot by a cliff, listening to the clock chime over the radio, after a kiss full of that love. 

Stephen doesn't say it back, and it's fine.

For Stephen's birthday Tony buys him a black Yamaha and to his shock Stpehen cries a little.

For Tony's birthday Stephen makes him a playlist, on a cassette, with his name neatly written on the front followed by a kiss. He apologises repeatedly for not having more but when he listens to it he concludes there's nothing better he could have given him. It's so them, everything about it is them. The last song on it is Running Up That Hill.

He holds on to that tape, it's his most protected possession, he locks it in his glove box on a September day when he parks at Stephens house to tell him they need to break up. He needs to go to MIT and forget him, it would hurt too much to be reminded every day of how much he misses him.

Stephen doesn't cry but Tony can see he's holding it back. His eyes are so bright and his lip is so bitten. Tony kisses him, softly, savouring, and tells him he'll always love him, because he's pretty sure he will. Stephen blinks fast and nods once. He doesn't say anything as Tony leaves, clicking the door closed behind him.

Tony drives, god knows where. He puts the tape in the stereo and cries through the whole hour of songs Stephen picked because he knows how special they are to them.


	2. City Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I hear through the internets that you're a top class neurosurgeon"  
> "And I hear through everyone and their mother that you're a superhero"
> 
> Even after 20 years, it feels just the same. At first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to say, nothing is meant by the brand of beer used in this story, it was written in 2019.

"What do you mean you're not coming?" He holds the phone between ear and shoulder while he fixes his gold tie in the car. The lights of New York city flash by his window, a palette of life.

"Fury needs me for something" Natashas voice replies. 

"Ugh I have to turn up alone? I'm Tony Stark" he ignores Happy's glare through the mirror.

"Yea, Tony Stark, famously single" she deadpans.

"Shut up" 

The event is at a jazz club, the thing that convinced him to turn up really, other than getting a piece of mind from tech and medical professionals on the augmented reality project SI is working on, even though Quentin insists they don't need any help. 

It's perfect, the live music just at the right volume, the lighting dim and hued red and purple, incense in the air. He stands up straight, chin high, and owns the room. Even if his arm feels cold at the absence of a partner.

Fifteen minutes of fake smiles and handshakes later he's at the bar ready to order a Martini. He has his eye on the bartender first because he wants to catch his attention, then because he pulls a Corona out. Ever since high school he can't look at a bottle and not think of Stephen, the only man he was ever with, the only person he ever really loved, even now that he's old enough to understand the feeling. He'll never go away, through all the one night stands, through Pepper, that kid with piercing eyes and black jackets kept a spot in his heart. It makes him smile. 

He was a fool to think he could ever forget Stephen Strange.

When the bottle is placed in front of him he's confused. "I didn't…"

"No he did" the guy points across the bar and when he finds those eyes, those blue green stormy eyes he stops breathing. 

Stephen feels like such a memory, like a dream, he hasn't imagined ever seeing him again. Yet here he is, smirking at him just like he used to.

He stares as Stephen taps his own Corona and he's enchanted. He's somehow more stunning than he was before, his face has grown in and he's not so slim, the beauty he’s always had is different now, more mature. 

He pushes off the bar and Tony doesn't take his eyes off him as he weaves past people, getting closer and closer until they're shoulder to shoulder.

"Been a while" that voice pours into him, revives words and whispers of the past.

"About 20 years. You look good" he comments, thankful for the drink. 

"You look better"

"I'm told the goatee really works" he smiles behind the beer. 

"I remember when you couldn't grow any facial hair at all"

He snorts, "Yea I'd like to see you try" 

"No, I don't want to step on your brand. Or your toes when you dance with me" he offers out a hand.

"Come on you smooth fuck" 

There are a few people dancing already, all couples most likely by how close they are. They're not any different, Stephen holds him right up against him with no space for his pounding heart to breathe and they sway slow. He’s still not sure if it’s real, if he can really feel Stephen's hands and smell his scent or if his mind is just reconstructing details he didn’t even slightly forget.

He looks up and Stephen’s eyes look kind, receiving, cataloguing everything like they always did. "Are you taller?" 

"A little. You didn't grow I see" 

"Shut up"

They're not on the floor long before Stephen asks him if he wants to go for a walk. Happy isn't on board with the idea but Tony knows how to persuade and soon they're side by side walking the Manhattan streets under a black sky.

"I hear through the internets that you're a top class neurosurgeon" he's only lying a little, just omitting the part that he runs a check on what he's up to every few months. 

"And I hear through everyone and their mother that you're a superhero"

"Wild right?" Being with Stephen takes him back to his days when he was a resentful teen who just liked building robots and spending time with his boyfriend, he could never have imagined the life he has now; Iron Man, the Avengers, the trauma, the guilt. 

"Yea definitely. I like Iron Man, I like what you are now" He smiles, a real smile, it always tugs at Tony's heart, still today.

"Thanks. I was going really downhill after my parents died and all that but I'm on a better track and hopefully soon I'll be a good man"

Stephen frowns. "You always have been what are you talking about?" 

"I've made mistakes, big ones, the Avengers feel stained, it's hard keeping people safe" his vision, his nightmare, it makes him cold. 

"Well it's a job you didn't have to take on"

But it's a job he owes to the world, the job life wanted him to have.

"How about you? How's the job?" 

He fixes his crimson tie. "It's good. My records perfect and research is fascinating"

"Is that what you wanted to go into medicine for? A perfect record?" It doesn't sound passionate enough, he knows Stephen as a man of passion. He loved the things he loved, really loved them.

He's apparently so shocked by the question he stops walking. When it mellows he bows his head. "No I… Donna died"

"What?"

Eventually Tony had to meet Donna and he remembers being scared, wondering what she would say, or think. But she was amazing, welcoming, gracious and excited. When Stephen upset him he would go to her and they would talk shit about him for an age, then he'd get sad and she always seemed to give the right advice. That big smile, that wise mind is gone. 

"She drowned. I was there, I felt like I should have been able to do something. It ate at me until I switched to a medical degree."

He doesn't say he's sorry, not because he isn't but because he knows it never helps. "That's heavy. You're doing good work" he gives Stephens shoulder a supportive squeeze. 

He still looks fallen, lost. "I don't know, no one really asked me why I'm doing this, I think I forgot" 

"And now you remember. You could be doing a lot worse Steph" he gives the shoulder a pat and they continue walking past lit up takeaway shops and dimmed clothing stores. The Avengers Tower stands proud to their east. First built it was his pride and joy, he felt like he advanced the New York skyline, like he owned it. Now he's looking for a buyer and he sees a tower of secrets and lies and danger. 

"Is there so much hate for the ones we love?" He murmurs into the quiet. He can hear the song when he looks at Stephen, feel the stereo vibrate to its rhythm. 

He smiles a little. "Tell me, we both matter, don't we?"

"You, it's you and me"

"It's you and me, won't be unhappy"

"Oh come on, baby  
Oh come on, darling  
Let me steal this moment from you now" he sings into the street, feeling happiness wash him in warmth.

They laugh together and Tony hasn't laughed properly in so long, it feels so good. 

"Hey" Stephen says when they die down to smiles. It reminds him of the first time they had sex. 

"Yea?" He replies, feeling 18 again. 

Stephen takes his hand and points down a street with the other. "I live down that street. Come up" 

"Are you going to tell me your dick gained an inch too?" 

"Maybe. Are you saying you want to find out?" Stephens eyes darken and Tony's all for it.

Stephen lives in a penthouse, a very clean cut place with vast space and eternal windows to the skyline. It doesn't have the personality of Donna's house but the piano is a nice addition. 

"You play?" He sits at the piano and remembers his mother, how she used to sway with the music. 

"I'm not that much of an asshole to buy it for decoration. Budge up" He sits next to him and rests his hands on the keys.

Just before he starts he gives him a cheeky look. He soon learns it's because he's playing one of their songs.

"Love's Theme, Barry White. Have you heard of it?" He smirks, playing the soft intro. 

"In passing" He quips back, happy to sit and listen to Stephen play the song. 

It's a throwback to the 80's but an anchor to the moment, to the dexterity of Stephens fingers and the light in his eyes.

They sit together in front of the piano for minutes after Stephens is done. Tony feels like his heart is living every second for him. "Do you think about me?" 

"All the time" 

He watches Stpehen lean in, he remembers what it feels like to kiss him, like elevating. It's better now, it's slow and it pours out so much love that sat for twenty years waiting for them to find each other. 

He's led to the bedroom, onto a soft bed and under a sharp man. Stephen's confidence has not wavered, he takes control and doesn't second guess a decision. Soon they're both naked and god he looks better now, matured and fuller.

He wouldn't call the next half hour anything but making love. Stephen does everything with attention to detail, attention to Tony, he whispers worshipping words and kisses him everywhere, touches everywhere. This is what he was chasing with all those forgettable girls, this pleasure that makes him forget himself, that feeling of being the only thing in the past present and future. The music of it all. 

Tony's mouth doesn't close until he finishes, until he's chewing his lip off and scraping his nails over Stephen's shoulder. And when Stephen does he bites his neck so hard it almost sparks him back to reality.

He breathes into his shoulder for a while, still hunched over him, but eventually pulls out and rolls off the bed. "Let me chuck this" 

"You're supposed to ask me if I liked it" he murmurs while Stephen steps over to the en suite to chuck the condom.

"I know you did" 

He snorts despite Stephen being right. "I didn't think you could get cockier" 

He chuckles, flopping next to Tony and kissing him on the cheek. "That's how you like me" 

They lie face up next to each other for a silent moment. Tony gets cold in the warm room and turns to rest his head on Stephen's shoulder. He holds him almost on automatic. "I'm sorry I broke up with you"

"It was a smart choice. We were so far away from each other it would have drove me nuts"

"I missed you so bad for like a year after, couldn't even look at another person"

"I miss you always, periodically, some days it's far away but others everything I look at reminds me of you" Stephen replies. He's changed, he wouldn't have been so forward about how he felt before. 

He figures he'll return another confession. "I still have your mixtape. I listen to it when I've had a terrible day"

Stephen mock gasps. "Tony Stark still uses cassette! I'll sell it to the papers"

"Hey I saw the vinyls in the living room don't try me. Also you have cum on your leg" he notices. 

"Who's fault is that?" 

"Sorry" he leans up on his elbows and offers his cutest pout. Stephen falls for it and kisses him. 

"I'll shower. Wanna join?" 

"I don't think I can even sit up" 

"Your loss" He winks. Tony watches his naked body walk away and does wish he had the energy to stand up. 

The shower turns on and he gets under the sheet. Just like that, from one blink to another, he's sleepy. Despite trying not to fall asleep he's almost there when his phone starts violently buzzing.

"Tony Stark's phone" he slurs, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

"Wait really? What a way to call a wrong number- no this is definitely Stephens number"

He squints at the device he’s holding."Oh shit sorry this is Stephen's phone, thought it was mine. He's in the shower, shall I pass on a message?" 

"I'm sorry why… are you at Stephens place?" 

"He's a big boy, he can have nightly company. Who is this?"

"Christine. His girlfriend" 

He has more than enough energy to sit up, to hold his breath and hope he heard wrong. "His what?"

She sighs. "I guess not for much longer" 

"You're really his girlfriend, dating him currently?" 

"I'm sorry Mr, uh, Stark, once an asshole always an asshole I guess. Tell Stephen I'll be over tonight to pick up my stuff" She says like she's tired, not surprised. 

"I'm so sorry I- if I knew"

"It's on him. And hey, if I can't teach him he can’t get away with doing anything he wants maybe you can. Goodnight" 

He stares at the black phone screen until the water cuts, until the door opens, until footsteps approach the bed. 

Stephen lied and cheated and betrayed. 

"Isn't that my phone?" 

"Your girlfriend called" he makes sure he's looking at Stephen, to see the way his mouth opens but nothing comes out. 

"Why did you do this?" 

"I- Tony I don't think when I'm with you" 

He's burning up. "Not even about the woman you're committed to?"

"It is wrong. I know. I'm sorry"

"You know what's sad? She didn't even sound surprised" he tosses the phone. 

"I-"

"Who are you Stephen?" The face is the same, the voice, the smiles, but he wouldn’t do something so utterly rotten, not back then. 

"I'm the same boy f-"

"The boy I knew was rough around the edges but he was good. He wouldn't cheat!"

"Because I was with you. There's no one better"

"So you'd cheat on anyone as long as it's with me yea? Well I don't want to be your 'special' mistress. I don't want to be part of your disloyalty" he gets off the bed and finds clothes piece by piece, pulling them on.

"You say it like you've never done it. You must have-" 

He feels like he's been slapped, that Stephen would accuse him of that. "I haven't, because if I'm with someone I have the balls to end it before I fuck someone else" 

"I love you Tony! I've loved you for twenty years" he yells, it's the first time he's ever heard him yell, the first time he’s ever said he loves him.

The words do settle in his chest and he hates that, he hates that his eyes feel wet. "You should have told me that when I was yours" 

"Be mine then" he pleads, circling the bed and reaching for him. 

He pulls his arm away. "Your girlfriend just broke up with you and you're already over it! Are you serious?" 

Stephen's arms fall heavy. "She's not you" he can see that's true, he can see it in his eyes, but he can't accept it. 

"You know what my self respect is telling me not to be with a liar and I'm going to listen to it" He spits, doing the last button on his shirt and grabbing his blazer. 

"I would never do that to you" 

"You lied to me when you kissed me out there. I don't want to ever see you again piece of shit" He storms out of the room and straight for the door. 

"You don't mean that." Stephen says behind him. There's not so much confidence in the phrase. 

"Oh I fucking do" 

He slams the door and the elevator feels like it takes years to make it down. It's years to hold down tears. 

He thought Stephen was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter in 3 days, subscribe or follow me on Tumblr @: wifeofstark to be notified x


	3. Earths Mightiest Heroes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen stays away because he knows what he did and he knows it's his punishment for the choice he shouldn't have made.   
> And four years later he has to break that rule because Tony's the only person that can help him take down Clea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My computer wouldn't boot up all day but I am here, at the crack of 11pm, to deliver.

Stephen stays away because he knows what he did and he knows it's his punishment for the choice he shouldn't have made. 

And four years later he has to break that rule because he's the only person that can help him take down Clea. 

He finds Tony in the Avengers compound, spanner deep in some guys arm. Said guy, who he realises is the Winter Soldier, jolts at his sudden presence and there's a gun pointed at him in a second. 

When Tony, startled also, looks at him, he takes his glasses off as if that'll change the image before him. Unfortunately for him it isn't the case, he really did step through a portal and there really is a cloak on his shoulders and he really can use interdimensional magic. 

"What the fuck- What are- What?" Tony's voice peaks when he's distressed just the same as always. And it hurts that he's just as beautiful as always, if not more. 

"I know you never wanted to see me again Tony but I need your help" 

"Yea I'll be mad when I'm done being confused" he gestures for him to explain.

He opens his mouth to start but the barrel of a gun trained on him is somewhat uncomfortable. "Can he maybe not point a gun at me?"

He looks from the Soldier to him and shrugs. "Nah I think he can" 

It's fair game. 

"Okay to be quick, I'm a Sorcerer now, like I channel energy from other dimensions and it gives me abilities beyond normal human comprehension"

"Definitely beyond mine"

"The reason I'm here is because this- my ex girlfriend is actually an evil entity from another dimension," he explains, not wanting to lie, no more of that. 

His eyes go wide. Straight away he can tell it's sarcastic. "Wow. That sounds like a you problem" 

"She's trying to kill me"

Tony sits down where he was and slips his glasses back on. They're a good look. "Don't blame her"

"Please I-"

"You heard him" the metal arm takes a step toward him and he really has a terrifying look to him. 

"Aren't you a criminal?" 

Tony stands and looks him dead in the eye. "Stephen shut up and leave"

"So you don't care if I die?" 

Tony fixes him with a level stare, hands in pockets and no emotion giving him away.

When the wall to wall glass explodes into the room he knows he made a mistake coming. 

By pure instinct he goes to protect Tony but the Winter Soldier is already there, shielding him with his back while he stumbles up from the floor and taps his chest. Red and gold covers him quickly and soon he's looking at Iron Man.

Clea floats in. Her eyes glow pink. "Stephen I'm in you. You can't run from me" She smiles. He used to think it was attractive.

"Excuse your love fest, are you going to pay damages?" Tony interrupts. It makes him nervous and he's relieved that she ignores him completely. 

"Admit defeat Strange. Become part of the Dark Dimension" 

"Leave earth alone Clea"

"I second that" there's a bright blue blast and Clea goes flying out where she came from. 

Stephen saved Clea from the Dark dimension, he took her in and started mentoring her and eventually started feeling something for her. Maybe it's because she reminded him of Tony; so bold and brash and with confidence backed by true skill. However she lacked the side of him people forget; his ability to listen, to understand and somehow make everything better, to stick close even when he was being pushed, and his kind heart. 

Clea flashes back like a bullet and collides with Tony. When she grabs his neck the armour glows purple and starts to burn. No matter what feeling he has left for her he was ready to rip her in half. Instead there's a gunshot.

Clea falls to her knees and Stephen feels a flash of a headache, a severed bond. She's alive, of course, a shot to the head is nothing more than a short recovery. She looks shocked though, touching the blood that drips black down the side of her face and examining it on her pale fingers. They shake like she's never seen such a thing.

She's shot again, in the back of the head instead of the side, and that's what it takes for her to vanish in a black cloud.

Tony waits a quiet second before retracting the suit. "Thanks Buck" his neck looks red.

"Are you okay?" This Buck has Tony by the shoulder, inspecting him desperately and repeatedly like he might miss something. Stephen knows love when he sees it, he knows that unmasked fear in the Soldiers eyes.

"All cool" he smiles up at him and Stephen has to watch Tony, his Tony, be gathered in the arms of another. 

It's his punishment.

Tony looks at him, not warmly, it's the business face he sees on tv. "Stephen. The choice is yours, stay here if you believe you'll be safer, leave if not"

When he takes a step closer to them the Winter Soldier bringsTony closer to him. "I'm staying. She's going to come back for you"

"We can defend ourselves. And you brought her here" the Soldier bites. His eyes are ice and they almost glow with it. 

"Trust me I'm a good asset. I understand her best and I'm most equipped to deal with her" 

He's in front of Tony now. "Well you did say she was your girlfriend, maybe you're working together? What do you want? Tony? His work?"

If only he knew how much he wanted Tony. 

Tony tugs the Soldier by the wrist to face him, the smile he gifts the man breaks Stephens heart, because once it was his. "James, he's an asshole but a friendly. It's alright" 

"Yea doesn't mean I won't be watching him" he grumbles, side eyeing him as he slips his ringing phone out of his pocket. "It's T'challa" he mumbles to Tony, walking off to the other side of the lab to take the call.

God knows how long Stephen and Tony just stare at each other. He doesn't know what Tony's thinking but he's mad, he's mad that he still loves Tony, despite the years, despite Clea, and he's mad that he ruined a chance of them being together as adults, as the best forms of themselves. 

It's Tony that walks over, signalling for him to follow to a small island by the far wall; a counter, two stools, mini fridge and a coffee machine.

"Drink?" 

"I'm fine" he sits on the stool and watches Tony shrug, getting himself a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge.

"So you're…" he makes gestures to fill the space. 

"I'm enhanced I guess you could say, just not in the same way your guy is" he looks over at the Soldier. The lab is pretty big but even at the distance he can see he's being watched up to the hairs on his neck. 

"That's Bucky by the way, all the heat didn't give us time for introduction" 

"Does he know who I am?"

"No" 

That hurts for some reason. It's not like he told Clea about him but he always wanted to, because everything reminds him of Tony, there's so many songs and memories, and he has such a presence in the media. So many times he would appear on the news and Stephen just wanted to say ‘He was mine once, I was his’. If not to Clea to anyone, to the world, he wants everyone to know he had everything, once. 

"Right. So… what have you been up to these past few years?" He asks, wishing he had said yes to the drink just so he'd have something to hide behind. 

"Oh you know the Avengers split up, Hydra killed my parents and there's someone richer than me on this earth. It's all really devastating stuff." He nods to himself, drinking down water. 

"I thought it was an accident"

He remembers, it happened weeks after they broke up. He remembers sending Tony a voicemail to see if he was okay. A response never came but he didn't expect it.

He shakes his head again, this time chewing on his lip. "Murder"

"I'm sorry." It was sad, wondering how Tony felt, then seeing story after story of his high school sweetheart getting trashed and high, or arrested for drunk driving. He could feel the pain through the headlines. 

"It's fine, I'm happy, I finally have closure and I've cut out the people that didn't really have my back. It's good here with people I can really call friends, politics aside" Stephen watches the news, he knows the words refer to Steve Rogers and those who sided with him.

Tony had a battered picture of Rogers and his father standing together, he looked at it often, in the quiet moments. He wonders if the Captain has any idea how much he's really betrayed Tony. 

They sit silently for what feels like a long time. It used to be natural for them, sometimes they just didn’t need words. It’s not now, its heavy and stuffy and cold. 

"So is Bucky- are you together?" 

When Tony sighs he knows it's not going to be a no. "It's complicated, he has a lot to work through and I have a lot to help him with" he runs a finger down his bottle, tracing a line on the cold surface. 

An age passes again. "I'm sorry I didn't call after your accident"

"You knew"

"Of course. Truth is I didn't have any words, I just made sure you lived and walked away"

He looks down at his damaged hands. "It lead me to this, to having sorcery"

"Interesting, was it a Gamma accident or something?" He leans forward, his genius mind ready to absorb. 

"No this is learnt. It's just about finding the right place and being the right person" he curls his fingers. Tony notices the movement .

"Your han-"

Bucky takes hold of Tony’s shoulders. "Hey, T'challa is considering flying out"

He frowns up at him. "Why?" 

"He's concerned about the signatures Clea emitted" the Soldier gives him a dirty look.

"He's still got tabs on this place?"

Bucky smirks. "Threatened you're not the only big brother?" 

"Whatever, he can come if he wants, I like him. Stephen, are you going to need a room to stay in?"

"Its okay I'll come back and forth"

He clasps his hands. "Suit yourself. Give us a rundown on Clea" 

He doesn't like this chemistry, this feeling that they're associates or that Tony is assuming the hero position. It's impersonal in a way he’s never wanted it to be with him, a way he doesn't even understand.

He still gives them a run down on Clea, what she is, where she comes from, her unfortunately long skillset, all of it. 

"She's… from a different dimension" he can practically see Bucky's gears turning beneath that frown.

Tony sighs. "What I got from that is that we're fucked"

"We can trap her in her home dimension, it won't be easy but we can" he realises mid sentence he may as well be talking to walls. 

Tony claps his hands together and stands. The height difference he has with Bucky is the same one they have, it stands out to him for some reason. "Cool. Well I'm gonna call someone about this glass"

"Don't worry I got it" he says, not masking how shit this all feels as he activates the time stone and rotates his hands at the spot where the glass should be. Shards drag across the floor and with increasing speed reassemble into their spaces until it's a perfect pane.

Tony's mouth hangs open for a long time before the usual chatter sets in. "What the hell. Are you sure you couldn't do this when we were in highschool? How do you learn that?" 

"You guys knew each other in highschool?"

"Yea we dated" he informs, with hidden satisfaction, especially when it gets a reaction out of him. 

"Buck am I nuts or did he really just do that? What's the green thing?" Tony throws his arms out. 

"The time stone"

Tony becomes less baffled and more serious. "It's not related to the mind stone in any way is it?" 

"Yea they're two of the six infinity stones" he explains, aware that it's one of the Avengers that sports the stone. 

"The what? I- I need coffee" he steps over to the machine and leaves him and Bucky awkwardly staring at each other. 

He doesn't stay long after, happy to be in the Sanctum alone, without a professional assassin staring daggers at him. 

Sometimes the walls speak, this time he gives them voice; fool, cheater, scum, they say. He had to look at Tony and not see those rich brown eyes love him like they did and that's his fault. He had to look at Tony and see him with someone else, someone that could have been him. But he's Sorcerer Supreme now, he can't waste time feeling. He sits in his study and his shoulders jerk, his throat closes, the struggle of wanting to cry and not being able to. 

It's only paranoia that gets him to the Compound the next day at noon. He's outside on the gravel path and the grass and buildings around him look elegant and bright even under the grey sky. A sky that has an intermittent flash between clouds. The blaster sound of it gets louder until Tony lands in front of him in a flash, one fist on the floor. 

He's seen some things in his life but he's still pretty impressed by it. 

Tony stands slowly and the helmet retracts from his face. He's smiling pleasantly, a change from how they met yesterday. 

"Good timing. We're about to have lunch" he leads the way into the compound. 

"Didn't think you guys had time for that"

"We try. But when Peter heard T'challa hasn't ever eaten Chinese he wasn't having it"

"Who are these people?"

"T'challa is the King of Wakanda and Peters is just a treat, you'll like him" he grins. It makes his heart feel less heavy. 

"I can't believe you're friends with a king"

He snorts. "Says the Wizard"

"I'm not a wizard"

"You sure dress like one" 

He concedes that the robes and cloak are a lot for lunch so he switches out for a navy jumper and jeans, leaving the cloak on incase he looks at Bucky wrong. "Good?"

Tony responds by opening and closing his mouth. That's enough for him, funny even. 

They step into an elevator and Tony disables the suit, it's cute noticing him go back to his actual height. 

"Hey I'm sorry about yesterday. I would care if you died, I was just being… petty, I don't know" 

He holds his hands up. "No it's okay, I brought it on myself" It hurt, much more than getting stabbed, but it wasn't undeserved. 

The doors open to the living area where people are sitting around a table delegating takeaway boxes. He only recognises Bucky and Pepper Potts. 

"People. This is Stephen Strange. MD" Tony smirks at him, probably regarding his insistence that everyone call him Doctor. They spoke about it on that night, walking from the Jazz club. 

"Hi! Cool cape" the kid says, munching loudly on prawn crackers.

"Cloak" he corrects, watching Bucky put his arm around Tony when he comes to the table and kiss his cheek. It's a punch to the heart. 

"So is this a new recruit?" Potts asks Tony.

"No, his girlfriend is trying to kill him. He could be though" Tony wiggles his brows at him. 

It's flattering and sure it sounds awesome to fight with Tony instead of watching him blast aliens on Tv but he can't be that high profile and he couldn't take seeing Tony and Bucky together any more frequently. 

Tony looks comfortable in his hold, he's smiling and relaxed. He wants to be there. 

Stephen meets everyone, the food's good, Peter's entertaining and he's caught up asking T'challa questions about Wakanda. 

A lack of chairs has Tony sitting on Bucky's lap for the meal. He tries not to pay attention to it.

"I should head out. Wong and I are working on ways to track Clea" he announces.

Tony nods. "If you need anything you know where to find us" he stands, maybe to escort him out.

But Bucky gets up as well, and he strides toward him. "Let me walk you out" 

He could portal away. He could. His pride doesn't allow it though so he follows him to the elevator with a dry throat.

He knows he could beat Bucky in a fight any day but here's still an irrational fear that he's going to get choked out in a confined space. 

"I don't like hurting people"

That doesn't make him feel safer, quite the opposite. "But?"

"I don't think you'd do anything to Tony, but if your crazy girlfriend so much as scratches him she's not the only one that's going to hear from me"

He snorts. "I'd kill her first if that happened"

Bucky looks at him calmly, analytically. He doesn't expect the question that comes next.   
"Do you love him?" 

He opens his mouth to say no but it's such a lie, such a juxtaposition to every piece of DNA inside him that craves for Tony that it doesn't come out of his mouth. He decides to be at peace with the information he's just given Bucky and strides out of the elevator.

"Hey Strange" 

He turns mid portal casting, almost fearing what's to come next.

But Bucky smiles sympathetically. "I understand" 

-

Stephen does wake up early in the morning, but that doesn't make him happy about being woken by his phone at 5am

"Hello?" He groans, rolling on to his back. 

"Stephen get here right now" the line cuts.

He's never been so awake so fast. He transforms into his robes and portals into the compound all at once. He stumbles not over shiny flooring but concrete chunks. Judging by the equipment sticking out all bent and broken from the mess the roof of the gym has collapsed. 

"Anyone here?" He calls, stepping over poles.

"Wow that was fast" he hears to his 2. It's Tony for sure. He runs over to find him on the floor, in the suit, holding up a chunk of ceiling with one arm. 

"Oh g-" he transports the concrete elsewhere with a spell and helps Tony up.

"Gracias" he retracts his helmet and looks around him with an exasperated expression.

"Clea?" 

"Clea"

He swallows down the guilt. "Are you injured?" 

"Other than a dislocated shoulder? No" 

The guilt comes back out to choke him. "Jesus"

The entrance is covered by a big piece of the ceiling and it thumps once, like someone's ramming it, then again. He's ready with a defence spell. 

The slab breaks to pieces and Bucky breaks through, looking storm blown. "Tony!"

"All good here Buck. I'm an expert at escaping death" he winks. Stephen rolls his eyes reflexively. 

"Alright I'm off to the med bay. Friday I want a hot coffee waiting for me there" he sighs, waving to them with his good hand. He's smiling but the pain is visible in the tightness of it.

Apparently Bucky catches it too because as soon as they're alone he's getting the coldest stare he's ever seen. "It was that woman wasn't it?" 

He doesnt think he needs to reply. But it might have been wise to say something because all of a sudden he's being grabbed by the cloak.

"What did I tell you? What did I fucking tell you?" He growls, his eyes alight like a blue flame. He's a weapon. 

"I'm going to deal with it" He says, level, holding his flesh wrist to get him to lay off. He feels like an attack spell might not impress Tony very much. 

Bucky grabs his hand with his metal one and crushes it so quickly Stephen sees white.

"You better. Or I swear you're dead" when he let's go a wail escapes him. He can't even hold himself up, the cloak has to do it. His hands burning, pulsing, screaming. God he wants to yell but he bites it down and cradles his hand. 

He wants to send that asshole to a dimension that'd rip his body to pieces until it's unrecognizable but it's not what he has to do, what he has to do is see Tony. 

-

He's making coffee in the workshop, all with one hand while the other is in a sling. Again he tastes the guilt, bitter. 

Tony still smiles at him though, in that way that reminds him like a truck to the face that he's so in love with him. "Hi wizard" 

"Hey. How's the arm?" He sits at the counter and watches Tony pour dark coffee into a mug. 

"Fine. This is as common as a cold I can take it" he nods at his sling. 

"I'm so sorry. I thought it would be better if I stayed away but I should be focused on protecting you an-"

"Sorry, what happened to your hand? It's shaking like way too much"

He hides it under the counter. They can talk about it later. "I'm gonna get Clea Tony" 

He puts down his coffee and stares at the cup. "Did… did Bucky do that to you?"

He stares. 

Tony's whole posture falls.

He puts his hands back on the counter. His fingers seem to want to curl in on themselves and stay that way. "Is he… is he- does he hurt you Tony?" 

Tony jolts. "No, no. I know what it looks like Stephen, and I'll talk to him about this, it's just he- he's very protective of me"

"Yea so much he would kill me apparently. Personally I believe him"

Tony looks at him then. "You've never cared about someone enough to go to jail for them?"

"Yes. Yes I have"

They sit quietly for a long time. He watches Tony unwavering and sees his mouth twitch, his gaze drop. There's an understanding, he knows exactly who Stephen would kill a whole army for. 

"But if you were my- well if our positions were swapped I wouldn't kill Bucky, because he's not the one trying to hurt you, regardless of whether he brought the threat"

Tony sighs into his coffee. "You don't understand"

"Maybe he hasn't changed completely. Maybe you're in-"

"He killed my parents" 

He's sure he didn't hear it right. "What?" 

Coffee spills onto the counter when Tony smacks the mug down. "Bucky killed my parents Stephen! Hydra made him but it was his hands that- that" his hand starts shaking and he shoves it in his pocket.

He doesn't know what to say. He never met Tony's parents and he always complained about them but he knows well how much he cared about his mum. 

"What I'm trying to say is that he has crippling guilt over it, over all the innocents he's killed. He's so guilty sometimes he can't speak, sometimes he excuses himself to cry in a restroom. He's deeply not okay and I just want him to know he's better than those things, he's worth more" He realises he's rambling and slows down, "And because of it he's obsessed with protecting me, too much, so much sometimes he disappears for days because he's scared he's going to switch back and choke me in my sleep. He thinks he owes me so much that all he can give to repay it is his life… We're working on it though, we're working on everything." He smiles, sadly.

"Right, okay… shit."

"Yea shits right" he attacks the coffee once more.

"But in that case do you two really love each other romantically? Or is it you trying to fix him and him trying to protect you?" 

Tony freezes, for a while. "I… you shouldn't be asking things like that" 

He shrugs, trying to lighten the conversation, hoping maybe Tony's realised something. "Well only you know the answer"

"And what do you know about love huh?" He snaps.

"Tony don't do that you know I've loved you since we were 18" it hurts to love, to not be loved, to have lost something because he was swept and stupid.

His eyes narrow. "You have… loved me? Not had?" 

"Yea. What's four more years?" He chokes a little.

Tony doesn't just look sad he looks devastated. And Stephen feels pitied in a painful sinking way. 

"This isn't good for us, being together" Tony finally says. 

"Once you're safe from Clea you won't have to see me again"

It's time to step away, so he makes a portal to the sanctum and puts Tony behind him.

"Wait" he watches him clear the counter and stumble through the portal and god if Stephen had closed it a moment earlier Tony wouldn't have any feet. 

"Tony that's dangerous" 

"Sorry I wa- wow what's this place?" They're at the stop of the stairs in the lobby and he looks around curiously.

"I live here, and protect our dimension" he spins on his heel to walk into the artefacts room. Tony follows. 

"I have so many questions about that"

"Is that why you followed me to the other end of New York?" 

"Where are we?" 

"The village. Manhattan" they reach the window and he points to the skyline out of it. 

"Oh you're close to the tower"

"I heard through the grape vibe you're selling it"

"Yea, if Clea doesn't blow it up first" he grumbles. 

"She won't" she's hurt Tony enough.

He looks away from the window. "Can you actually take her?" 

Stephen shrugs. "I'll have to break a sweat"

Tony's brows go up. "How powerful are you really?" 

"I have a long way to go but Loki is easy work" 

"Wow. You wanna join the Avengers?"

"No. What did you want?" 

"I know I said we shouldn't be doing this but I have to tell you I want you to be happy. I can hear your sadness in a soundproof room"

"I'm not sad" Even the cloak knows that's bullshit but he stands tall. 

Tony squints at him. "You just told me you loved me and I'm fucking another guy, I think that's enough" 

He could have assumed that, but now the thought is swimming in his head, of Tony with someone else like that. It's a knife cutting at the walls of his brain.

"Go home"

"No I- you need to move on."

Just because you love someone doesn't mean you don't want to strangle them sometimes.

"You think I haven't tried?" He snaps.

"I don't get it. I'm nothing special" 

"Will you shut up!" 

Tony steps away like he's been slapped.

Maybe he shouldn't have yelled, but he's not going to let Tony take away the value, the endless reasons he fell and is in love.

He sees pink reflect in Tony's conflicted eyes before he feels the ground beneath them shake.

The chaos isn't so far away when another beam shoots straight through the window they’re standing at. Glass shatters everywhere and it’s too bright to see, it all happens so quickly Stephen hadn’t realized Tony was in front of him, full suit and shield up. 

The second the beam stops Tony fires up his repulsors and jets through the smashed window. Stephen has to stop for a second, impressed at how much of a superhero Tony really is, despite being just a guy, a genius one. He could stand to learn a lot from him, he always does. 

He floats out of the window and deploys the time stone to repair it before zooming off after Tony . He and Clea are in the middle of a very intense exchange of beams, flying around the Manhattan skyline. It gives him the opportunity to cover the ground, pulling people out of their wrecked cars or fallen signs and shoving them through portals to get them well out of danger. 

Soon Tony lands next to him messily. Stephen doesn't have to be told to create a shield around them. 

"I'm gonna be honest with you, I don't know what to do" he yells over the sound of dark energy rolling over Stephen's shield. 

"We need to seal her away. Her own dimension will do" 

"Should I get the rope?"

"Don't stay too close" He lifts the shield and pushes the energy back in quick succession, enough to clear Tony and give himself space to fly at Clea and launch them both through an office window. 

"Hi" she smirks, looking up at him. Her eyes stop glowing, fade to lavender irises.

He doesn't have anything to say. All the memories are tainted, their time together, the first date, her bright laugh. It's all rotten.

He presses his hand to her chest and she glows purple in between his fingers. It's time for her to go home. 

She's staring at him with a desperate silence. He feels fingers on the back of his head and a shooting pain flashes across his brain. It took being too late to realise what she's done to him. His vision goes from white to Clea. She's in front of him, naked. Warm shower water dribbles down his face.

"Get out of my head"

"You don't usually object to this" she runs her small hands over his chest and when he shrinks back the shower water stops hitting him, it's cold. 

"I resent you" he slides the panel open and steps out of the shower. 

And of course she follows "I love you"

He gives her a look as he sits on the toilet seat. "Toddlers lie more convincingly than you"

"Don't you love me?" She bats her silver lashes at him in a way that used to wear him down. They never defeated him like Tony's long dark ones though.

"No. I thought I could, I wanted to, I needed someone el- regardless, I don't love you" he groans, bunching hair in his fists. 

Clea stands close, water drips off her body, gone cold when it hits him. "Where is your heart Stephen, if not with me?" 

"Places it shouldn't be" 

"Is it the man in the metal suit?" 

"Get me out of here Clea, god knows what you're doing to him right now"

She steps back. "Is it really him?" 

Patience snaps. He shoots up and crowds her against the wall. "Get me out!" 

"You're thinking about him"

"Yea he's fighting alone!" He stomps up to the door and it's locked, despite his best efforts to rip it out of its hinges. 

She looks sad, as if she were capable of such emotion. "Why were you with me?"

"Does it matter? You were using me" 

He probably deserves it, because he made Tony feel used.

"No. I need you. I need you!" 

He shoves her away before she can reach his arm. "We're not on the same side"

"But you are with him?"

He doesn't reply. She goes from sad to venomous like a light switch. 

"He's a dead man" 

"Not as long as I'm alive"

Behind him there's a knock, coming from the other side of the door. The silence in the bathroom after it is palpable. Clea looks afraid.

"Who's there?" He ventures.

"Stephen?"

His heart skips a beat. "Tony?"

"Stephen come back" he sounds so despaired.

"I want to" He struggles with the door handle, "I want to" 

Clea scratches at his back and when he turns he can see she's speaking, more yelling, but there's no sound. Somehow the pure strength of his will throws her body back against the far wall. He realises then that while he may be trapped he isn't trapped in Clea’s mind, he's trapped in his own. And it's his. 

When he goes to the door handle he wills it to just open. It doesn't.

"Fuck- Tony I don't know if you're in my head or what but are you okay? In the real world?" 

"No. That's why you need to wake up"

This time he tries and the door opens without give.

Tony's standing there bleeding out of his eye socket, cut nose bridge and lip.

"Jesus"

He smiles and it looks painful. "Yea I definitely underestimated how powerful you were"

"What?" 

Tony grabs him by the robes, those which he wasn't wearing a second ago, and they tumble together onto a cracked up street. He realises that what they've fallen into is reality, and that in reality Tony's on the floor, pieces of his suit charred off, and he's standing over him with a long glowing spear in hand, ready to plunge it through his chest. 

He catches himself at the perfect second, aiming next to Tony's head instead. 

The moment the spear touches the ground everything is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for coming, I have so much love for people that enjoy and follow my works (yes that's you <3)
> 
> Stay tuned for the last chapter!   
> \- Tumblr: wifeofstark


	4. Lifetime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Where's Tony? Is Clea still out there?"
> 
> "That was two years ago Stephen"

"Hi!"

He squints at the girl looking down at him like she's about to dissect him. She's loud and it's bright. 

"Who… who are you?" His voice sounds like he hasn't used it in years.

"I'm Shuri. Your friend Wong is here" 

He sits up slowly and indeed Wong is standing behind the girl, arms behind his back like always. "Wong? Here? Where's here?" 

The room they're in looks like a lab out of a movie, it's vast and modern unlike anything he's seen before. 

"Wakanda my friend" 

"Wak- What?" He starts to remember, he spoke to that man T’challa about this place. 

"You have a lot to be caught up on" 

He suddenly remembers what he was doing before all this. "Where's Tony? Is Clea still out there?"

Wong looks at the black floor. "That was two years ago Stephen"

"That makes no sense Wong"

"Barnes shot you in the neck two years ago" the girl supplies, "He thought you were going to kill Tony, he didn't hesitate. He regretted it greatly" 

He frowns. "Is he dead or something?"

Wong and the girl share a look.

"Oh my god he's dead"

"Half the earth's population is dead"

The three of them exist in silence for what feels like a really long time.

"Am I on drugs?" 

"Not hallucinogens" Shuri says. 

"Am I dead? You said I got shot in the neck" 

"You almost were, we've been working on waking you back up all this time"

"Is… is Tony alive?" 

"Yea, he’s here actually" 

It hurts his neck how quickly he looks around the room. "Huh?" 

"He had a big hand in getting you, well, alive. You were pretty brain dead"

"Can I see him? How is he?" 

"Not good. Let us hope you'll lift his spirits" 

"I want to see him now" he should have known he would collapse when he tried to stand up. Shuri and Wong are quick to support him though. It's sad to think he was once too proud to accept help from friends, friends he didn't have for that very pride. 

The three of them head into an elevator that's exactly a floating capsule and it zips up a couple floors into another lab space. 

When Stephen sees half a body poking out of a dismembered jet he knows it's Tony and suddenly he can't speak.

"Tony!"

"Shuri these parts are incredible." He calls back, and he sounds excited, but not in the same way Stephens used to, there's something beat down about it. 

"He's here" Wong says in an exasperated tone, like he doesn't understand the gravity of things. If he hadn't been lied to Tony hasn't seen him in two years. 

Tony's head shoots out of the machine to look directly at him. He's wearing red tinted goggles, his hair is tousled and greys are starting to peek out of its temples. He's beautiful.

“Stephen?” He says, voice small.

“Tony” He replies, leaving Shuri and Wong to slowly walk toward him. He doesn’t care if things are as they were, if Tony will never be his again, the two of them are alive and just the sight of him is enough to make him smile from ear to ear.

Tony climbs out of the jet, slides down the side of it and sprints at him. It’s a mess what happens next, Tony knocks him over, falls on top of him and his goggles smack his nose bridge hard. He watches as Tony yanks the goggles off his face and smashes their lips together, he kisses him like it’s the last time, like it’s the only time, like he’s been waiting years. He holds on tight and kisses back just the same. 

“We c-” 

He cuts Tony off with another kiss, and another, and another, catching up with all that time he’s been dying to feel his lips, hold him in his arms, love him. 

Eventually he stops, leaving back to look at Tony, smile at the sight of him. “I’m sorry, I interrupted you” 

He blinks, big eyes shining like jewels. “Right, I wanted to say, we can make this work right? I just- I don’t care that you made a mistake, you’re still Stephen and I love Stephen. I want you to be with me always”

Like warm water rushing over him he remembers that what he’s feeling is complete happiness.

“Where else would I be?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for getting to the end, I hope you had a good time and I hope to see you for my next fic. Stay healthy!

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think? And how are you? Let me know in the comments and I'll see you for the next chapter x


End file.
